Coming full circle

It was on the campus of the University of Houston where I first fell in love with journalism — and more specifically, sports journalism.

Whether it was the countless hours spent in the communication building with my well-respected professors, the nights working at the Daily Cougar, chasing interviews at the Athletics/Alumni Center or one of the many courts or playing fields on campus, UH was the place where my passion for this industry was born. So it only feels natural that the industry has brought me right back to Cullen Boulevard.

I’m Sam Khan Jr., the new UH beat writer for the Chronicle. So I would like to bid you all a hearty “hello” and let you know that I’m looking forward to the opportunity.

As you might have guessed by now, I’m a UH alum (class of 2005). I’m a born and bred Houstonian (graduated from Cypress Falls) and I’ve been with the Chronicle for 5&frac12; years. The majority of my time with the Chron has been spent covering high school sports — if you’ve followed preps in recent years, you may have come across my work. I’ve also had some chances to cover a wide variety of other things such as Astros, Rockets and Texans and colleges to things like the Chevron Houston Marathon and even Sam Houston Race Park horse racing.

I’ve had a blast covering the countless stories that I’ve had the chance to — from football state championships to the Yates boys basketball runs to high-round MLB draft picks and everything in between. And working side-by-side with my esteemed colleague Jenny Dial — who will lead the way on the preps beat moving forward — is something I will miss dearly.

But the time for change has come and I’m fired up about it. Despite being an alum, I won’t be a homer (I promise) and I won’t be overly critical either so as to not appear to be a homer. I will be fair like I always have been. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a big-time thanks to my predecessors on this beat. Steve Campbell — who is moving over to work on the Astros beat — has already been a tremendous help to me in this transition period and has been nothing but a true professional. He’s a terrific talent, I can’t thank him enough and to know that he’ll be there for me if I need him is huge. And Michael Murphy, who was his predecessor a few years ago, was a guy who meant a lot to my development as a journalist when I was coming out of college and just joining the Chron.

I hope to make them both — as well as the countless others who have contributed to my growth in this business — very proud as I tackle this new venture.